In 1965, a group of riding enthusiasts got together and formed a club, in response to the question "How come the kids get to have all the fun"? The Delaware Valley Combined Training Association or "DVCTA" was born, and the adult pony club idea began..

The stated purpose of the club is specified in the DVCTA's By Laws, which were developed in the early 70's, as required by the incorporation process.

The basic mission of the club is to provide instruction and training for the members of the club and to inform and demonstrate our sport to the public: We accomplish this by way of our many clinics and large events, such as, Dressage at Devon, Dressage at Fair Hill, the Horse Trials and in the old days Chesterland - a major three day event.

For several years in the early 70's, the club put on a dressage show at the Willcox's Tory Hill Farm in Glen Mills, Pa. The show moved to The Radnor Hunt Club in Malvern, Pa. while still searching for a permanent home.

We credit the late Pat Franco with the idea of moving the show to the Devon Horse Show Grounds in 1975: it caught on and Dressage at Devon or "DAD" was born.

Local riding instructor, Sidley Payne, had a son who had leukemia. She and the DVCTA's first president, Sally McCawley, approached long-time equestrian enthusiast Dr. Audrey E. Evans, Director of the Division of Oncology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, "CHOP", to explore the idea of presenting Dressage at Devon as a fundraiser for the Cancer Research Center, and as a result, a wonderful 10-year relationship was begun.